Bloomsbury has shown interest in publishing this project.

Editors:

Dr. Shubhanku Kochar shubhankukochar@outlook.com

Dr. Tanupriya tanupriya.2493@gmail.com 

The darkness of the modern city is constituted not only by its immoral underside, its dens of thieves, its parade of prostitutes, its labyrinthine slums, but also by the physical and moralized underside of the open drains or closed sewers that service it and the swamps on which it may, more than likely, have been built (Giblett 2019, 35). The idea of ‘uncanny’ can be defined as strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way. The modern city with an open drain of industrial waste and open swamps gives an uncanny appearance which is connected to the environmental concerns. The uncanny for Freud is a feeling or state of fascination and horror evoked by the ‘dark continent,’ whether it be of female sexuality, of the slums or the swamp. In Freud’s autobiographical note to explain uncanny, the uncanny is the repressed, not only sexually repressed, but also the morally and spatially repressed, its red-light district. The sexually and spatially repressed are the bodies of the prostitutes embodying what Solnit (2000, 209) calls ‘transformation of city into female body.’ 

        Engels subscribed to the miasmatic theory. In his 1892 ‘Preface to the English Edition’ of his The Condition of the Working-Class in England, he quotes an article of his own in which he had said that the East End of London in 1845 was “an ever spreading pool of stagnant misery and desolation” (42). In short, it was an industrial quaking zone of misery and desolation. The imagery of the modern city as a site of both fascination and horror is deeply intertwined with environmental and social concerns. The metaphor of a ‘quaking zone’ captures the instability of these polluted areas, where the ground is literally and figuratively unsteady, threatening both the environment and the communities trapped within it. Pollution, defined as the addition of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or any form of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in a harmless form, takes on multiple dimensions. The major kinds of pollution- air, water, and land pollution are exacerbated by modern concerns such as noise, light, and plastic pollution. All forms of pollution have negative effects on the environment and wildlife, often impacting human health and well-being. This pollution is not merely an ecological issue, but also a reflection of broader systems of neglect and exploitation. Industrial waste and stagnation become symbolic of the inequalities perpetuated by urban development. Thus, the pollution Engels describes can be seen as an embodiment of repression in spatial terms: the physical environment reflects and magnifies societal repression, whether of class, gender, or moral responsibility. These polluted spaces are uncanny because they reveal the underbelly of progress—the hidden costs of industrial and urban modernity that the city, and by extension society, seeks to conceal but cannot fully erase. 

Pollution can be defined not merely as a scientific concern but also a socio-political, cultural issue that intersects with society, culture and its inhabitant and how each individual has to deal with this waste and pollution. For Davis (2006, 19), “Instead of cities of light soaring toward heaven, much of the twenty-first-century urban world squats in squalor, surrounded by pollution, excrement and decay.” Pollution and waste are deeply interconnected, each exacerbating the other in a cycle that reflects broader societal, ecological, and economic challenges. Pollution, defined as the addition of substances (solid, liquid, or gas) or forms of energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate faster than they can be dispersed, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in a harmless form, is often the direct result of unmanaged waste. Waste, in turn, includes the by-products of human activities- industrial, agricultural, and domestic whose improper disposal leads to contamination of air, water, and land. For instance, improper disposal of solid waste can result in land pollution, leaching harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater. Similarly, industrial effluents and untreated sewage are major contributors to water pollution, degrading aquatic ecosystems and threatening human health. Air pollution, often caused by burning waste materials like plastics, releases toxic gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere, endangering both the environment and living organisms. Moreover, waste is not only a physical pollutant but also a symbol of systemic inequalities. The global waste economy often displaces the burden of pollution onto marginalized communities, turning them into ‘sacrifice zones’ where health and well-being are compromised. 

The 19th and 20th centuries witnessed profound transformations due to industrialization, urbanization, and technological advancements. These changes led to significant environmental challenges, notably pollution, which became a central theme in literature of the time. Authors and poets responded to the escalating environmental degradation by reflecting societal concerns, critiquing industrial progress, and envisioning the complex relationship between humanity and nature. The Industrial Revolution brought unprecedented economic growth but also introduced severe environmental pollution. Literary figures of the 19th century often highlighted the adverse effects of industrialization on nature and society. Poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge emphasized the sublime beauty of the natural world, contrasting it with the encroaching industrial landscape. Wordsworth's “Lines Written in Early Spring” laments the loss of harmony between man and nature, reflecting a deep concern for environmental degradation. In novels such as Bleak House and Hard Times, Dickens portrays the grim realities of industrial cities, where pollution and squalor affect the lives of the working class. His vivid descriptions of smoke-laden skies and polluted rivers serve as a critique of unchecked industrial progress. John Ruskin expressed apprehension about the pollution of England’s countryside. His writings often contain sarcastic remarks about polluted rivers, highlighting his disdain for industrial pollution. 

The 20th century, marked by rapid technological advancements and two world wars, saw literature grappling with the consequences of human actions on the environment. T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” captures a world in decay, symbolizing both spiritual desolation and environmental degradation. The fragmented imagery reflects the disarray of a polluted, post-industrial society. Authors like George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, in works such as 1984 and Brave New World, explore themes of technological control and environmental manipulation, indirectly commenting on the potential ecological consequences of totalitarian regimes and unbridled scientific experimentation. Rachel Carson’s seminal work, Silent Spring (1962), though non-fiction, had a profound literary impact. Carson's eloquent prose brought attention to the dangers of pesticides, sparking the modern environmental movement and influencing subsequent ecological literature.

Waste is a deeply gendered and classed phenomenon, shaping social hierarchies and reinforcing marginalization. Medical waste, including used syringes, expired medicines, and biomedical disposables, poses severe health risks, disproportionately affecting sanitation workers often from Dalit and other marginalized communities who are forced to handle it with inadequate protection. Menstrual waste, in particular, is stigmatized as impure and polluting, reinforcing taboos that isolate menstruating individuals, especially in cultures where menstrual blood is deemed filthy. The burden of managing this waste often falls on marginalized women who lack access to hygienic disposal systems, forcing them to resort to unsafe methods such as burning or burying sanitary products. This creates a cycle where both the material and symbolic aspects of waste further oppress already vulnerable groups, making waste not just an environmental issue but also a feminist and caste issue. The uncanny nature of waste and its ability to unsettle and disrupt becomes evident in how society displaces its anxieties onto marginalized bodies, making them the bearers of filth, both literally and metaphorically.

The aim of the proposed book is to argue that Waste and Gender in the twenty-first century in the global south is nothing, but a relic of colonialism and imperialism. Colonisers not only meddled with indigenous cultures, but landscapes as well in their desire to create new Europe wherever they went. They fenced themselves in what they termed later as suburbs/cantonments. Likewise, they walled natives out into slums or townships which were located at the peripheries of the cities. These areas were largely overcrowded and highly polluted with crime and dirt as rampant characters. After the independence, in most of the erstwhile colonies in Africa and Asia, the most beautiful city centres were bequeathed to new elite/ the new upper-class who were different from colonisers in skin colour only. Its temperament was more or less like that of the colonisers. This new class was European in its education, outlook and treatment of poor slum dwellers and it paid hardly any attention in developing these polluted and uncanny underbellies of modern cities. As a result, one observes that in the countries from the global south, most modern cities like: Lagos, Harari, Nairobi, Kampala, Cairo, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Lahore, Karachi, Dhaka, Colombo, Durban, Johannesburg, etc still retain dark and polluted side which is still untold and undocumented despite massive developmental projects being implemented in these cities. These cities are half rich, neat and clean and half dirty, polluted and mismanaged and it is this neglected side that this book aims to talk about.

The book will try to answer the following with reference to literature produced in the twenty-first century in and about the Global South:

City as sight of Waste, both industrial, medical and nuclear

City as polluted landscape

City as uncanny spectre in ecological context

City as unclean, bleak dump yard of waste and people

City as place of death, disease and decay

City as haunted and toxic scape

City and garbage

Gendered labor in waste management and sanitation

City as unholy and dirty space

The Gendered Politics of Waste

Menstrual Waste and Pollution Taboos

Medical Waste and the Casteed Division of Sanitation Labor

The Uncanny Nature of Waste and Bodily Disposability

Waste as a metaphor for social exclusion 

Waste colonialism

Submission Guidelines

Abstract Deadline- 15 May, 2025

Contributors must submit an abstract of 350-400 words along with 4-6 keywords and a brief bio. Please submit a brief bio along with the abstract document to both the editors on shubhankukochar@outlook.comand tanupriya.2493@gmail.com